Oshie. (Caps Outsider)
The Caps and Flyers did on thing fairly consistently Thursday: They took penalties. Though the Caps got one in, both teams struggled on the man-advantage. The Caps ended up going 1/6 and the Flyers 0/4.
The Flyers suffered a huge loss as their second line center, Sean Couturier, is out for the rest of the series with an AC sprain in his left shoulder, per csnphilly. This doesn’t bode well for the Flyers at all.
For Washington, I felt they killed their own momentum in Game 1 with their awful four-minute man advantage. They struggled with the basics of entering the zone and setting up. For them to be successful, the power play will be key. It can add even momentum and tire out the Flyers’ best defensive players, allowing the Caps’ depth players to take hold of the game.
It will be interesting how the teams respond to the physical play, particularly late in the game Thursday. It will also be interesting how short both coaches’ leashes are when it comes to penalties.
Also see: Caps Have Some Major Secrets
